This is the fourth book in that great Y.A. series known as Percy Jackson & the Olympians. The series is based upon what happens when a young lad suddenly finds out he happens to be a Greek demi-god whose sole purpose seems to be to stop a war from destroying Olympia. In other words ...Let’s get ready to RUMBLEEEEEE with over 360 pages of Greek monster mythology. What makes this series so unique is that the setting is in today’s world and everything is adapted to it. Mt Olympia is now wayyyyy on top of the Empire State building and Hades is in California. Well I hope you didn’t think those tremors were actually caused by the Andreas fault line did you? So of course the author takes a lot of leeway when it comes to explaining the mythology, but who cares, it’s well thought out and fun at the same time. The characters have that Potter feel to them. They really do seem to act like real friends and well, at times you seem to go back in time and remember when things were less complicated and it didn’t take much to make us smile. It does show that this is the fourth book in the series since the interaction between the different characters flows perfectly. You already know what this or that character will say or react to a certain situation almost like you would in real life with real friends. So that being said on with the review....OMG OMG best book ever.....just kidding.
Well of course Percy is back and fast with the response as ever. He seemed to have gotten is smarta$$ ways back big times. Although it does show he is now almost fifteen in the way he reacts to things as a whole. In other words...girl problems. Poor lad this is only the beginning. Annabeth is back and at least has a major role in this one. She actually gets to lead her very first quest. Being Percy’s friend and probably future girlfriend we get to see another side of her. That of the jealous friend who happens to be a girl...LOL. Now of course this brings us to part number two of the girl problems for poor Percy. Her name is Rachel Elizabeth Dare...yes...R.E.D. hmm I wonder what her hair colour is? She is a great addition to the series. We got to read a bit about her in the last instalment and the author made her an important part of this story. Percy’s best friend Grover is also back, not being born brave but being brave because he cares for his friends always makes him a welcome addition to the books. Now probably my favourite character of the lot Tyson is also back. Being Percy’s half brother he always has an eye out for him and being a Cyclops does help in that department. He brings a lot of comic relief in the series. He says what he feels and sees thing in a very simple way. He basically is the simple minded one that is way wiser than most. He is an awesome character that brings so much to the stories.
This one starts off at the beginning of the school year with Percy almost getting kicked out of school for something he did not do, in other words; déjà vu. Percy learns that Kronus is coming to camp Half Blood and it’s not for a vacation. He and the Titans army are going to find Daedalus famous maze and use it to go under the magical protection of the camp to simply kill and destroy anything that has to do with the demi-gods. And of course after that, well...goodbye Mt Olympus. So our band of heroes led by Annabeth go on a quest to try and find the elusive Daedalus to convince him not to bargain with the Titans. Needless to say not everything is what it seems inside of the maze and our friends are in for quite an adventure. Especially when...nah, that would be a spoiler, so just read the book and find out.
I really enjoyed this one. The story based on the famous maze was truly a great idea. Of course it’s been vamped up quite a bit to suite our times but what a fun thrill ride it turned out to be. These may be Y.A. but it has that way of drawing me in like Harry Potter or The Young Wizards series do. I simply am anxious to read the next one but at the same time I am saddened to know it also will be the last of the series. So if you want to give this series a try, go right ahead and enjoy yourself. Just remember the first is maybe a bit too much like Potter but after that, they do go on very different paths. So all in all I would rate this book a solid four and a half stars, leaves or anything that your little heart desires.
